Keep Drifting
by CierraLuv97
Summary: Daphne isn't the same girl she was five years ago. Things change, and now the things she treasures the most are lost. All she has are beaten, bruised memories that she's forbidden to remember, by herself. But when a friend asks, Daphne is unable to stop.


_**Hi, guys. It's Cierra. I really don't know where this story came from. It's very short, and just something I thought of. It's also very sad. I just have two things that I'd like to say, though: First of all, try to guess what Daphne's friend is from (very easy). I wasn't sure if this counted as a crossover because she was in it. And secondly, when Daphne says I remember, I swear, I read that somewhere in a book. I would love to give credit to the person who wrote it, so if you know where it's from, tell me!**_

_**Also, I am kind of lacking in stories. If you have an idea that you want me to write, please send it to me! I'll post the first chapter of that story, and if you guys like it, I'll keep going. **__**Send me your ideas!

* * *

**_I am having tea with Gabriella Bolton, my neighbor. Tea makes me feel old. I am only thirty three. I feel like I am a hundred years old.

Gabriella is only twenty-eight. Her life is perfect. She married her high school boyfriend, who was the star of East High. She went to Stanford University and is the youngest professor in New Mexico. Last year, she gave birth to twins, Isabella and Jacob. They're absolutely beautiful and perfect and make her laugh. Her home is beautiful and feels like a home.

"The tea is good," I murmur. I always murmur. I can't remember a time when I talked over a murmur.

Well, I can remember it, but I don't want to.

"Oh, thanks!" She smiles warmly at me. "I bought it at Bass's." She continues to talk, but I have trouble paying attention. It seems like all I do now is drift. On and on, through words and smiles and laughs and tears, not feeling them.

Gabriella is too bright, though, to be fooled by my charade like everyone else. "Daphne, are you okay?"

I drift through a bright smile. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, I don't know..." She trails off, thoughtful. After a moment, she says, "Daphne, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course." I always use proper grammar. Never _um_. Never _yeah_. I stay angular and regular.

"Troy said he found an old article about you in the library... about you and a bunch of other kids solving mysteries? And there was an accident, and you got hurt, and you don't remember anything. Is that true?"

"I don't remember," I half-smile, but I am afraid. I am walking right at the edge of rememberance and forget, and I am afraid. Very afraid.

Gabriella hesitates. "Sometimes, I think you're too sad not to remember anything. You can tell me. I can keep a secret, trust me." She smiles gently. "Do you? Remember anything?"

And then I cross the line, and I am sucked into memories. _I remember._ I am five years old and I am fighting with a little girl who short brown hair and glasses. She thinks my Barbies are silly.

_I remember._ I am eight years old, and I ask a woman and a boy with scruffy hair if I can pet their dog. His nametag says Scooby Doo.

_I remember._ I am ten years old, and I watch from my daddy's shoulders as the mayor waves from the parade float. Beside him is a blonde boy with incredibly blue eyes who looks bored out of his mind.

_I remember._ I am thirteen, and Mr. Marsh assigns me Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers as group members._ I remember_. I think about how Velma is a nerd, about how Shaggy is a dope, about Fred is an arrogant idiot.

_I remember._ We get expelled, and we decide to solve an actual mystery. We find actual clues and discover actual suspects. _I remember_. When Principal Grimes starts to come our way, I kiss Fred to hide my face. _I remember._ I stay up all night thinking about those five seconds of my life. _I remember_. We solve the mystery. They become my best friends.

_I remember_. Velma's glasses falling off when she is running. She finds them in the nick of time. _I remember_. How she made us all feel stupid. How she was confused and dazzled by a certain musuem curator. _I remember_. The orange turtle-neck and pleated skirt. How she briefly fell for Shaggy. How she went to such lengths to save an ancient tomb. How she was posessed. How she loved to read. How she was sarcastic and funny and could make someone smile with her smarts.

_I remember_. How Shaggy could eat eighty-seven hot dogs without breathing. How he made jokes that made us groan. _I remember_. How when he fell for a girl, he really fell for her. How he was the biggest chicken in the world. _I remember._ How he could dig up unbelievable bravery that was only for the ones he loved. _I remember_. How he and Scooby had the most incredible bond. How I was jealous of him for it. How he was goofy and shy and lucky and innocent and childish.

_I remember_. How Fred's traps never worked. How he couldn't speak anything other than English to save his life. How he loved his Mystery Machine like it was his child. _I remember_. How he ran his hands through his hair when he didn't have answers. How his blue eyes shone like the ocean. How his hands would feel strong around mine._ I remember_. How he and I had a spark that was impossible to describe. How, when he'd kissed me, I'd felt like I'd never felt before. How he wanted to be everyone's knight in shining armour._ I remember._ How jealous I'd gotten, when Fred had liked Lena and Chrystal and Marcy and Alice May and Jessica. How jealous he'd gotten over those lifegaurds in Australia and Dr. Yantz. How we'd had heartbreak and pure happiness. How we never knew what was around the bend. How I never wanted it to end.

_I remember_. How I'd gotten us out of traps with make-up. How I'd fallen into traps countless times. _I remember_. How the gang had made fun of because I got kidnapped more than was nessacerily healthy. How I'd finally proven myself. _I remember._ How I'd fallen for Fred on day one. How me and Velma would stay up late, painting our nails. How my parents had occasionally given us money to travel. How I used to stay up late, writing songs for the gang, but showing them the songs because I never felt they were perfect. How the gang gave my life meaning.

_I remember. _How Scooby Doo could choke out rough sentences. How he used his paws to let us know what he wanted. How I could bribe him a Scooby Snack. _I remember_. How he was afraid of everything supernatural and most of everything else. How he hated girls that Shaggy loved. How Shaggy and him were so close I couldn't think of Shaggy without thinking of Scooby. I remember. How the world loved him. How statues were put up of him. How he defined us as a group. _I remember_. How we cried when he died. How Shaggy broke down during the funeral. How I'd not let go of Fred's hand once while they buried him. _I remember. _How he was everything a dog could be and more.

_I remember_. The last time I'd seen them, we'd been shivering and huddled and running from the biggest scare in our life. How Jonathan Jacobo had armies after us. How he'd convinced an old man, an old king, that we killed his daughter. How, running up the hill in the pouring rain, running from the guns, I had fallen, and before the gang could come and get me, the men had come, but they didn't see me._ I remember._ How I woke up in the hospital, and pretended to have amnesia, to have completely lost my memory, to protect myself. To protect the gang. How I didn't know where they were. How I still don't.

I could answer Gabriella's question, I suppose. It's been five years. Gabriella could keep a secret. Nothing would happen. I could let her know that I lied about amnesia. Maybe if someone else knew, I would feel lighter.

But I knew that wasn't the problem. I wasn't weighed down at all, and that was the problem. I was too light. I had nothing to hold onto. Just memories which I had forbidden myself to remember because they would turn my heart into something broken and bleeding, my sanity into something mangled and twisted.

"I remember..." I whisper, and then I swallow. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

I would keep drifiting. Until I found what I was looking for. Until I found a lanky man with messy brown hair and a short girl with short brown hair and a blonde boy with eyes that could fill the holes in me. Until I found what I was supposed to be doing again. Just keep drifting.


End file.
